Estate Planning Blog

Forbes: “Talking about death is not easy. Most people avoid it. Clients often only address the topic once they have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness. And sometimes even then they refuse to discuss it. When my own father was in the hospital dying, he did not talk about his death. He just kept writing on his yellow legal pad, making to do lists, until he died.”

Accounting Today: “Although there is a great deal of truth in Benjamin Franklin’s oft-quoted maxim that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, the timing of death and the amount of taxes owed are not certain, observed Joyce Beebe, a fellow at Rice University’s Center for Public Finance.“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 leaves the federal wealth transfer tax system in place, but temporarily doubles the exclusion amount for estate and gift taxes to $11.18 million per individual or $22.36 million per married couple until the end of 2025,” she said. “In 2026, absent congressional action, the base exclusion amount will revert to $5 million, indexed for inflation.”

Nightly Business Report: Grandparents and parents may not know the best way to pass down their wealth to the next generation, which involves more than minimizing estate taxes that will be owed on the inheritance. When one dies with considerable assets, they have several options for places to leave their money, including to loved ones or a charity. Here are some best practices to consider.

WealthManagement.com: “When the topic of estate planning comes up, talk about taxes is soon to follow. That train is rarely late. Taxes are important, but they aren’t what keeps planners up at night in 2018. According to a recent TD Wealth survey of 109 attendees of the 52nd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, including attorneys, trust officers, accountants, charitable giving professionals, insurance advisors, elder law specialists, wealth management professionals, educators and nonprofit advisors, family conflict is what they’re really worried about.“

The New York TImes: “Sue Ellen King worked as a nursing educator and critical care nurse at University of Florida Health for almost four decades. Her co-workers kindly joked that she had been at the hospital since the foundation was laid, which happened to be true. King was ready. She circled her last work day on the calendar and took a week-long trip with her husband to celebrate her upcoming freedom. But, when she actually transitioned into retirement, King found that her carefully crafted post-work experience had fallen flat. “I’d done all the preparation, except to really think about what life was going to be like,” King said. After only three months, she returned to work in a part-time position at the hospital.”

FOX News: “Authorities have charged a North Carolina couple with cheating dozens of grief-stricken families out of thousands of dollars for headstones they failed to deliver. Tunis and Georganne Selby were arrested this week and charged with felony conversion and obtaining property by false pretense, Monroe police said. The couple, who ran a company called Memorial Design Concepts, was accused of swindling 34 families out of $64,000 for the monuments, FOX46 Charlotte reported.”

Caring.com: “Sundown syndrome is a term that describes the onset of confusion and agitation that generally affects people with dementia or cognitive impairment and usually strikes around sunset. Many people, though, use the term to loosely describe increased agitation and confusion that can occur anytime but may be more noticeable in the late afternoon or early evening.”

FOX News: “The family of a Humbolt Broncos hockey player who was on a bus when it slammed into a semitrailer in western Canada– killing 15– said he was taken off life support and his organs will be donated, The Global News reported. Logan Boulet, 21, a defenseman, was put on life-support on Saturday and his family said his organs would be harvested and six matches have been found.”

Westlaw: “Contemplating death is not a pleasant experience for most people. However, for the transgender community, it is becoming increasingly more important to consider from an estate planning perspective. Throughout their lives, transgender people face numerous challenges regarding their identities. These challenges can continue after a transgender individual’s death if he or she is not buried according to their gender identity. Transgender individuals run the risk of having their surviving family members bury them in an undignified manner if the transgender individual passes away without specifically documenting instructions for their burial.”

Bloomberg Pursuits: “Art dealer W. Graham Arader specializes in antique maps, books, and prints, and he has a side interest in antique houses. “I own the seventh-oldest house in San Francisco,” he says, “I own the only pristine beaux-arts mansion on Madison Avenue, and I own George Washington’s home in Virginia.” Also in his possession is a 19th century Victorian house in Nyack, N.Y. Arader bought the home, roughly a 40-minute drive from Manhattan, for about $6 million in 2005. “I bought it for the beauty of the house,” he says. “I’m an art dealer. I like things that are beautiful, plus I bought it for my seven children to use on the weekends.”